In his favour, when he has been picked to play, David Moyes has rarely played him in his favoured position.

However, Davies, like he was at Tottenham, is very injury prone and has simply been unable to stay fit to play a consistent number of games and get a regular place in the side.

The other argument is the position he plays. He's a right-sided midfielder but he does not have any real pace.

I also think the recent media reports will not help, with speculation he could be on the move when the transfer window opens, citing the fact he is not getting regular football at Everton, despite them having a small squad.

To be fair he has denied this speculation but the only real match practice he is getting is internationally, and there is no smoke without fire!

STEVE SHONE, Wallasey

ONCE >the boo boys of Bullens Road have targeted you, you know you're in for it.

The vultures have been circling round the Goodison changing room for the next member of an ever-growing society, one which includes Stephen Hughes, Graham Stuart (oh, he felt the wrath) and a personal favourite of my old man, Gary Naysmith. But now a new contender has come forward in the shape of Simon Davies.

He looks like your typical winger, and at Spurs he played a bit, too. There, he used to glide past the opposition, crossing beautifully and scoring a few as well. Then he signed for Everton.

Has he really done anything for our beloved club? Has he done those runs? Scored those goals? No.

Has he had the chance? I'd say as much as anyone else. Will he shake off the dreaded boo boy title? No. He doesn't in-spire me, nor many other f ans.

KEN STEWART St Helens

THE PROBLEM> with Simon Davies is he just hasn't performed since he came to Everton.

He was brought in to give us a bit of width on the right hand side but he hasn't delivered in this position and he's even worse in the middle of the park.

The rest of the midfield has been working well. Carsley does the mopping up job, Osman offers a bit of guile, Arteta is as creative as any player in the Premiership and Cahill gets forward and scores goals.

But if you were to ask me which particular quality Davies is supposed to bring to the team I honestly couldn't tell you.

Having said that, there's no point in making him a scapegoat. The team didn't lose against Boro because Davies was playing, it was because we didn't play well on the day.

And those with short memories should try and remember that this time last year James McFadden had become a bit of a boo boy victim and now he'd be in most people's first choice starting eleven.

TONY SCOTT Walton

MISQUOTED >or otherwise, Simon Davies' apparent warning that he was ready to leave Goodison in January seemed ill-timed, after another colourless performance at the Riverside.

Over 30 games into his Everton career it is still unclear what role he plays in the side. As a central midfielder the game has generally passed him by, and when used on the right he has displayed a tendency to drift inside and leave the team unbalanced.

Although Mikel Arteta's crossing was be -low par against Boro he consistently beat his full back, something Davies never threatened to do.

I would certainly be more inclined to select Leon Osman, James McFadden or even Andy van der Meyde, who has at least shown willingness to attack defences. With teams increasingly coming to Goodison just to defend, we need midfielders with a spark of creativity. Unless the Welshman begins to display this ability, a parting of the ways might be in everyone's best interests.